Have you talked to Joel this morning?
Amelia
He had his last physical therapy appointment this morning. That’s all I know. He doesn’t really check in with me.
Something didn’t sit right with me. I texted Cole.
Judah
Do you have eyes on Joel Hawthorne?
Cole
Hold.
Cole
My asset said he was last seen entering a medical complex around 0800 and has not exited. Probably going to physical therapy after you tried to recreate a Jackson Pollock on his knee using a baseball bat.
Judah
Your jokes suck.
I glanced at the clock. 9:18 a.m.
Joel had been last seen a little over an hour ago. Amelia was accounted for.
Everyone was okay.
Everyone was okay.
Everyone was okay.
My email was packed to the brim with new assignments.Probably because I threw the fact that I’d finished all the busy work I’d been given in Sanders’s face.
I ignored all of it and started hunting.
Sometimes I longed for the old days of spy craft—not that FBI agents were spies. We simply . . . cultivated them. I was jealous of the agents who did their digging by sneaking around and picking locks.
Digital spy craft was mind-numbing.
Maybe that’s why I liked undercover work.
My phone buzzed as I emailed a stack of files to myself and cc’d Cole for good measure. It was always a good idea to have backups.
At least that’s what I’d learned with Valentine.
Nothing was secret when it came to FBI servers. The thing was, I had nothing left to lose. The career I once thought I’d be in until retirement had become the very thing that would keep me from retiring. It had given me Amelia, but it had also almost taken her from me. That was unforgivable.
The clock started the moment I sent that email. Cybersecurity would immediately be flagged. Sanders would be notified. He’d run it up his chain of command. If they thought the breach was serious enough, my keycard and server access would be revoked before my ass left my chair.
I waited for my computer to immediately force a log out, but nothing happened.
Cole
Confirming receipt.
My phone buzzed again, but it wasn’t Cole. It was a notification from the security system I had installed in Amelia’s apartment. The front door opened and closed.
